International records / OpenAlex research

The Arabic Literature of Nigeria to 1804: a Provisional Account

The purpose of this essay is to provide a convenient introduction to the Arabic literature composed in Nigeria and the immediately adjoining areas in the period before the commencement of the Fulani jihād. That far-reaching movement of political and religious reform, initiated in 1804 under the leadership of Shehu Usuman dan Fodio (in Arabic texts ‘ b. Fūdī, often surnamed Nur al-zamdn and Mujaddid al-isldm) clearly marks off the division between the early and the modern period in the Arabic literature of this area. As is well known, the standard bibliographical work of reference, Brockelmann'…